Paolo Di Canio Critiques Rafael Leao's Work Rate
Paolo Di Canio has never been one to whisper an opinion, and this time his glare is fixed firmly on Rafael Leao.
On Sky Sport, the former West Ham and Juventus forward dismantled the Milan star’s recent performances, accusing the Portuguese of lacking the work rate and selflessness required to lead the line for a team with title ambitions.
“He seems lazy without the ball”
Milan’s attack has stalled during their winless run, and Di Canio laid a large share of the blame at Leao’s feet. Not for missed chances. For the work he simply doesn’t do.
“We are talking about a player who should make 50 movements to receive the ball,” Di Canio said, “but doesn’t even make half unless he’s certain he’ll receive it. He didn’t even make a movement to open the space for his teammates, because he wasn’t sure he’d receive the pass.”
In Di Canio’s eyes, that is a fundamental betrayal of the role.
“Any striker, in any league, must work so hard. It’s difficult even for natural centre-forwards; imagine for a player who seems lazy almost every time he doesn’t have the ball.”
The criticism cuts to the core of modern attacking play: pressing, decoy runs, constant sprints that rarely make the highlight reels but win matches. Di Canio’s argument is simple — Milan’s focal point isn’t doing them.
From MVP to stagnation
Leao was the face of Milan’s 2021-22 Scudetto, crowned the league’s best player and hailed as the symbol of a new, fearless Rossoneri. Two years on, the narrative has darkened.
The debate around his lifestyle has grown louder as his development has stalled. The numbers, the influence, the sense that he is dragging games to his rhythm — all of it has plateaued.
Di Canio believes comfort has crept in. Fame, money, and off-field interests, he suggests, have dulled the edge that once made Leao unplayable.
“He relaxed; he’s been cuddled, and he hasn’t had the determination or desire to keep improving,” Di Canio continued. “The priority has almost become something else.”
Then came the pointed comparison between football and Leao’s ventures in music and fashion.
“Over the years, I don’t remember seeing so many fashion show videos or eight-hour recording sessions with record labels. You always say we should look at the players’ private lives, but if someone spends four or five hours doing other things, their physical and mental energy gets drained.
“It’s not like playing PlayStation for half an hour. If you’re spending six or seven hours with a record label and going to fashion shows, how are you supposed to regenerate the mental energy to play at this level?”
The message is brutal: at the very top, distractions cost you. Not in image, but in intensity.
Milan’s dilemma
All of this lands at a delicate moment for the club.
Milan sit third in Serie A on 63 points after 32 matches. They trail Napoli by three points and are a full 12 behind city rivals Inter. It is not a crisis, but it is not the trajectory they imagined when Leao signed his long-term deal.
He is under contract until 2028 and is the highest earner in the squad, the financial and symbolic pillar of the project. Yet reports from Gazzetta dello Sport suggest the club could listen to offers if his form does not pick up.
That possibility would have been unthinkable when he was tearing up the league two seasons ago. Now it hangs in the air, quietly but firmly.
A brutal run, a brutal question
The calendar offers no comfort. Verona, Juventus, Atalanta. Three fixtures that will test Milan’s structure, nerve and star power.
For Leao, they represent something sharper: a direct examination of his status. Is he still the man Milan can build around, or a luxury they can no longer afford?
Di Canio has made his verdict clear. The next few weeks will show whether Leao has the will — and the work rate — to challenge it.
